IF4 attendees watch a short film together in the Byrd Auditorium at the National Conservation Training Center on Aug. 28. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — The International Fly Fishing Film Festival (IF4) returned for its third year-in-a-row to the Byrd Auditorium at the National Conservation Training Center (NCTC) on Aug. 28.

According to NCTC Outreach Coordinator Randy Robinson, this year’s screening saw an even greater turnout than in the past.

“As far as I know, this is the only place in West Virginia that does a screening of IF4,” Robinson said.

He attributed the growth, however, to an increasing local awareness of the festival, as well as to the timing of the screening. Previously, IF4’s annual festival was featured at NCTC in November, when all but the most passionate fly fishers have put away their fishing gear until the spring. August, on the other hand, hits right at the beginning of the fall trout fishing season in West Virginia — making it the perfect time for outdoorsmen to see the festival and gain new inspiration for the coming fly fishing season.

Two such outdoorsmen were Hagerstown, Md. residents Brian Kane and Miles Kane. The father and son, respectively, share a love for fly fishing — even though their paths to that same interest developed independently from one another’s.

The Byrd Auditorium was filled with outdoorsmen and fly fishing enthusiasts, during the screening of IF4 on Aug. 28. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

“I started fly fishing probably over 25 years ago, when I first came to this area,” Brian said. “I happened to land in an area of Pennsylvania — the Carlisle, Pennsylvania area — that was famous for LeTort Spring Run and fly fishing. I learned to fly fish and tie flies and, by hook or by crook, hoped my some would take an interest in it, as well.”

Miles himself felt little interest for the hobby, until he found himself attending the State University of New York at Cortland, which he graduated from this past spring.

“I ended up going to college in upstate New York, in a town where an important fly fishing company was based out of,” Miles said, referencing the Cortland Line Company. “So, me and my friends just got really into it, the last couple of years. Whenever we could, we would go out somewhere and fish.”

Since then, he and his father have gone fishing together and, when Miles heard about the nearby screening of IF4 in Shepherdstown, he knew they needed to attend. That decision proved to be the right call for the both of them, as they agreed that they would be taking ideas and information from the festival home with them — and would be returning again, when the next season of the festival is screened at NCTC.

“I’ve never done anything like this yet,” Miles said, speaking of the exotic fly fishing locations and challenging situations featured in some of the films. “It would be nice to try out. It looks like a lot of fun.”

NCTC Outreach Coordinator Randy Robinson welcomes the audience to the International Fly Fishing Film Festival in the Byrd Auditorium on Aug. 28. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

His father already has a specific idea of where he would like to try fly fishing next, thanks to IF4’s selection of the short film, “Native Range,” for inclusion in this year’s season.

“I went to Utah in the spring and am going back in October, though not to fish. But I’m thinking now, after seeing that film about all of these fly fishing places in Utah, that it’s such a beautiful area and would be a great place to fish,” Brian said.

Another short film of note, was that of “Above the Clouds.” The film featured a familiar face to many in the area — that of Shepherdstown resident and West Virginia Rivers Coalition senior scientist Than Hitt. It certainly brought the festival a little closer to home for Shepherdstown residents Valerie and Mike Dudash, who both fly fish in their spare time, along with their son.

“We come here all the time, for different talks and for this festival,” Valerie said.

She and her husband agreed that IF4 reflects the truth about fly fishing — it’s about so much more than simply catching fish.

“It’s an art, tying the flies and imagining the catch,” Mike said. “One of the famous guys in the fishing world is Lefty Kreh — he is known as the best, and they just had a movie out on him. He said, ‘It’s not the trophy fish, it’s the trophy memories.’ The fish is only 10 percent of it — what makes fly fishing so special is who you’re with, whether it’s with my son or my wife, and it’s the environment you’re in, the nature you’re becoming immersed in. It’s where fishing takes you, is why we do it.”

To learn more about IF4, visit https://flyfilmfest.com/.